Outboard motor steering stabilizer



Aug. 12, 1958 ALLEN 2 45,

OUTBOARD MOTOR STEERING STABILIZER Filed Aug. 28, 1956 2- Sheets-Sheet 1 Hartley Allen Aug. 12, 1958 H. ALLEN OUTBOARD MOTOR STEERING STABILIZER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1956 .v chfifflii Harfley Allen INVENTOR.

United States Patent OUTBOARD MOTOR STEERING STABILIZER Hartley Allen, Wampum, Pa.

Application August 28, 1956, Serial No. 606,659 4 Claims. I 01. 74-495 This invention relates to a device adapted to be utilized in conjunction with an outboard engine and more particularly to a device for holding the tiller in a selected position against movement of the tiller due to vibration so that a fisherman or other user of the outboard engine need not tend the tiller but may be engaged in fishing or be occupied elsewhere.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision of means for holding the tiller of an outboard motor in a secure manner against movement due to vibration yet which arrangement of parts will not adversely affect control of the outboard motor in tilting actions and the like and which will not hinder to any noticeable extent the use of the tiller to steer the boat on which the motor is .mounted.

The construction of this invention features a bar having a series of apertures therethrough which are adapted to be engaged by a spring pressed ball detent mounted in the shaft which provides the rotatable mounting for the bar. Another form of the invention employs a novel arrangement including a spring pressed detent which is adapted to engage a bar having projecting teeth or the like so as to hold the bar in desired position.

One of the features of the invention lies in the means for connecting the bar to the tiller which includes an aperture in the bar and a dowel pin depending from the clamping means secured on the tiller. The dowel pin is adapted to be detachably received within the aperture in the bar so that the dowel pin may be quickly and easily removed from the bar when it is desired to tilt the motor merely by raising the tiller in the usual manner for tilting the motor.

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of a steering stabilizer for an outboard motor that is simple in construction, capable of installation on either side of an outboard motor and on the stern transom of any suitable type of boat or elsewhere on the motor as may be desired, and which is in expensive to produce thereby permitting wide use and distribution by sportsmen, fishermen and other users of outboard motors.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this steering stabilizer for outboard motors, preferred embodiments of which have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of steering stabilizer;

Figure 2 is an elevational viewof the invention;

Figure 3 is another elevational view of the invention similar .to that of Figure 2 but looking from the opposite side thereof;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional detail view as taken along the plane of line 4-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional detail view as taken along the plane of line 55 in Figure 4;

2,846,896 Patented Aug. 12, 1958 Figure 6 is a sectional detail view similar to that of Figure 5 but-illustrating the plate in a position holding the spring pressed ball detent from engagement with the bar;

Figure 7 is a sectional detail view as taken along the plane of line 77 of Figure 4 illustrating the construction of the cushion pad utilized in the invention; and

Figure 8 is a sectional detail view of a modified form of the invention.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, reference numeral 10 generally designates a stern transom of a boat on which an outboard motor as indicated at 12 is adapted to be mounted, the outboard motor being provided with a tiller 14 for steering and tilting the outboard motor. The tiller 14 thus provides means for steering the entire boat. With the motor 12 operating and the tiller 14 positioned in a selected position, vibration will normally tend to cause the tiller 14 to move and hence steer the boat in a different manner than that desired. The present invention generally designated by reference numeral 16 provides means for stabilizing the steering of the boat and includes a clamp member 18 of inverted U-shape having a clamp screw 20 associated therewith of any suitable configuration such as that shown most clearly in Figures 1 and 4 for mounting the device on the stern transom 10 of the boat.

Secured to the clamping member 18 as by bolts 22 is a mounting bracket 24 in the form of a strap bent to form upper and lower portions 26 and 28 as well as inner and outer side portions 30 and 32.

Rotatably mounted in aligned apertures 34 and 36 in the upper and lower portions 26 and 28 of the bracket 24 is a shaft 38. A collar 40 is disposed on the shaft and is adjustably held in place by means of a setscrew 42 so that the height of the shaft 38 can be readily adjusted by relative movement of the collar 40 with respect to the shaft 38 during the adjusting of the shaft.

As can be seen best in Figures 4 through 6, the upper end of the shaft is threaded as at 44. This threaded upper end of the shaft 38 is threadedly engaged in a threaded recess in a block 46 which may be made in two parts, a lower portion 50 and an upper portion 52 held together by means of screws or other suitable fasteners 54. The block 46 is provided with a first slot 56 therein through which a bar 58 is adapted to slidably extend. A plate 60 which may be provided with upturned end portions 62 and 64 is slidably disposed in a second slot 66.

In alignment with the threaded recess into which the threaded end 44 of the shaft 48 is threadedly engaged is a passage 68 through which a ball detent 70 can extend. The plate 72 as shown is provided with an aperture or opening 74 therethrough and the surface 76 formed by the opening 74 is cam shaped for camming engagement with the detent 70. A spring 78 is disposed within the shaft 38 which is hollow and a rod 80 as well as a plug 82 is provided, the shaft 38 being internally threaded as at 84 for threaded engagement with the plug 82. The position of the plug will of course control the stress onthe spring 78 and thus control the force necessary to overcome the action of the ball detent 70.

The rod 58 is provided with a series of spaced apertures 86 extending the length thereof and is provided with an enlarged aperture 90 at one end. Thus, the bar 58 may be readily adjusted with respect to the block 46 when the plate 60 is in the position as is shown in Figure 5 and with the ball detent 70 being pressed into a selected one of the apertures 86 to hold the bar 58 against movement due to vibration. When it is desired to more easily move the bar 58 as during normal steering operations on the craft, the plate 60 may be moved to the position as is shown in Figure 6 which will prevent the ball detent from engaging the bar 58 whatsoever.

A clamp of any suitable configuration as indicated at 94 is provided for engagement with the tiller 14 and carries a dowel pin 96 adapted to be inserted in the aperture 90 and free to rotate therein. Hence, with the plate 60 in the position as is shown in Figure 6, the user of this device is free to steer the outboard engine 12 in any convenient manner without any appreciable resistance from the invention. When the plate is in the position as is shown in Figure 5, the ball detent 70 will require only an adjustable minimum of force to overcome the locking action of the ball detent 70 which is sufficient to prevent the motor 12 from moving due to vibration but yet which will permit the steering of the outboard motor 12 quite readily from one position to another. When it is desired to tilt the motor 12, the dowel pin 96 which is of a smaller size than the diameter of the hole 90 will readily free itself from the bar 58 thus allowing the tiller 14 to be readily raised.

It is noted that any suitable means may be provided for cushioning the clamp or mounting member 18 including a rubber or synthetic resilient plastic pad as at 98. This will prevent undue scarring or marring of the transom of the boat on which the invention is mounted.

As shown in Figure 8, a block 100 is provided with an internally threaded recess for threaded engagement on the upper threaded end of a shaft 102. In this form of invention the shaft 102 may be either solid or hollow and there is secured as by a fastener 104 to the block 100 one end of a spring 106 which carries a ball detent 108 engageable with and between projections 110 formed on the undersurface of a bar 112 receivable within a slot 114 in the block 100. The projections 110 may be formed by teeth, pins, or any other suitable means and there is provided means for adjusting the tension on the detent 108 which includes an adjustment screw 116 threadedly engaged in a threaded recess 118 in the block 100. A spring 120 is positioned between the spring 106 and the block 100. Hence, adjustment of the adjusting screw 116 will adjust the amount of force necessary to overcome the locking action of the detent 108 on the bar 112 which is usually adjusted to be suflicient to prevent movement of the bar 112 with respect to the block 110 due to vibration yet which will provide a minimum amount of resistance against desired steering action.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An outboard motor steering stabilizer comprising a member for attachment to the transom of a boat, a mounting bracket attached to said member, a shaft journaled in said bracket and carrying a block, a bar adjustably mounted with respect to said block, said shaft being hollow, a spring pressed ball detent in said shaft, said bar having a plurality of apertures therethrough, said ball detent engaging said bar in a selected one of said apertures to adjustably hold said bar against movement with respect to said block caused by vibration, and clamp means detachably swivelly engaging said bar for attachment to the tiller of an outboard motor.

2. .An outboard motor steering stabilizer comprising a member for attachment to the transom of a boat, a mounting bracket attached to said member, a shaft journaled in said bracket and carrying a block, a bar adjustably mounted with respect to said block, said shaft being hollow, a spring pressed ball detent in said shaft, said bar having a plurality of apertures therethrough, said ball detent engaging said bar in a selected one of said apertures to adjustably hold said bar against movement with respect to said block caused by vibration, and clamp means detachably swivelly engaging said bar for attachment to the tiller of an outboard motor, said block having a first slot extending therethrough and a second slot extending therethrough normal to and below said first slot, said bar being received in said first slot, a plate movably positioned in said second slot, said plate having an opening therethrough, said plate being movable with respect to said ball detent with said opening selectively moved into and out of alignment with said ball detent, at least a portion of said ball detent being adapted to extend through said opening.

3. An outboard motor steering stabilizer comprising a member for attachment to the transom of a boat, a mounting bracket attached to said member, a shaft journaled in said bracket and carrying a block, a bar adjustably mounted with respect to said'block, said shaft being hollow, a spring pressed ball detent in said shaft, said bar having a plurality of apertures therethrough, said ball detent engaging said bar in a selected one of said apertures to adjustably hold said bar against movement with respect to said block caused by vibration, clamp means detachably swivelly engaging said bar for attachment to the tiller of an outboard motor, and means for adjusting the height of said shaft with respect to said bracket.

4. An outboard motor steering stabilizer comprising a member for attachment to the transom of a boat, a mounting bracket attached to said member, a shaft journaled in said bracket and carrying a block, a bar adjustably mounted with respect to said block, said shaft being hollow, a spring pressed ball detent in said shaft, said bar having a plurality of apertures therethrough, said ball detent engaging said bar in a selected one of said apertures to adjustably hold said bar against movement with respect to said block caused by vibration, clamp means detachably swivelly engaging'said bar for attachment to the tiller of an outboard motor, said block having a first slot extending therethrough and a second slot extending therethrough normal to and below said first slot, said bar being received in said first slot, a plate movably positioned in said second slot, said plate having an opening therethrough, said plate being movable with respect to said ball detent with said opening selectively moved into and out of alignment with said ball detent, at least a portion of said ball detent being adapted to extend through said opening, and means for adjusting the height of said shaft with respect to said bracket.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

